The Box Hill Athletic Club had its largest ever representation at a World Junior Championships with Steven Hooker, Bridgid Isworth, Georgina Power and Tim Williams representing Australia at the recent championships in Santiago Chile. All four athletes performed with distinction and are congratulated on their fine efforts in representing their country overseas against the best junior athletes in the world.

Georgina Power ran close to a PB in her heat of the 100m hurdles but unfortunately did not make it through to the next round, finishing 6^th in 13.87s.

Tim Williams had a fantastic meeting, running three PBs and making the semifinals of both the 100m and 200m. His full results are listed below:

100m
Heat 10.65 3^rd
Quarter-Final 10.60 (PB) 4^th
Semi Final 10.75 8^th

200m
Heat 21.42 (PB) 4^th
Quarter-Final 21.29 (PB) 2^nd (-1.6 m/s wind)
Semi Final 21.33 6^th

This is a wonderful result after many years of hard training and steady improvement. An indication of the quality of these runs is that his 100m time breaks the Club U19 and U20 record of 10.5s (hand timed) held by Rod Gebert since 1988. More remarkable is the 200m time which breaks the Club U19 and U20 record of 21.5s (hand timed) held by Gary Eddy for 38 years since 1962. Given that an allowance of 0.24 seconds is normally made for hand timed results compared to electronic timing, Tim's performance in the 200m is even more outstanding.

Bridgid Isworth traveled to the championships after a long winter attempting to gain an Olympic qualifying performance in the pole vault. After the disappointment of not quite making the Olympic team, she performed well to finish 6th in the world in the final of the pole vault with a jump of 3.70m in very difficult conditions.

Steven Hooker was a late addition to the Australian team, but he more than justified his inclusion with two great days of competition. Steven cleared an equal PB of 5.10m in the qualifying competition to make the final, and then came back to further improve his PB in the final with a jump of 5.20m for 4th placing. Steven cleared the same height as the third placed competitor, but unfortunately missed out on the bronze medal on a countback. Steven's efforts also broke Box Hill Club records, improving on his own U19 and U20 records of 5.00m and equaling the Club open record of 5.20m held by Andrew Vearing.

Congratulations on a great effort by all four athletes.

In the past month there have been at least 3 occasions on which the female changerooms have been left open overnight. On Thursday the 2^nd I received a phone call from a council worker telling me that he had locked up the female changerooms as there appeared to be nobody around. Later in the day we discovered that the P.A. room had been entered and that the portable microphone had disappeared from the cupboard. If anyone can come forward and say that they locked the Female Changerooms on Wednesday November 1st, I would like to know. Because at the moment it appears that the club will have to spend around $500 replacing something because of something as simple as locking a door.

If you open the buildings you need to make sure that when you leave the doors are locked or that the people coming after you know it is their responsibility to lock up. You have paid money to be a member of the club, it is your club, please take the time to protect the clubs assets.

Adam Pepper

Jeff McNeill, a blind member of the Club, finished 10th in the marathon at the Para Olympics in a time of 3:04:44. This is a remarkable achievement given that 7 months ago Jeff was hit by a car traveling at 100 km/hr while training and was unconscious for 6 days with a fractured skull, broken leg, punctured lung and smashed collarbone. He was told that he had only a 1% chance of surviving the accident, yet managed to recover sufficiently to finish 10th in the Para Olympic marathon. A truly inspirational effort by Jeff.

Jeff has been a member of the club for many years. He retired from running in the early 90's but was inspired to take up the sport again when Sydney was awarded the Para Olympic games and got himself fit enough to be a member of our A grade team in the Victorian half marathon championship in 1999. He would have been a real chance for a medal in Sydney if not for the tragic accident earlier this year.

Whilst many were in Sydney the rest of us, some 55 assorted athletic fans, watched the best evening of athletics ever seen in Australia. On a large screen in the lounge room of Tooheys Victoria where we enjoyed the fare of the local Mama Mia Pizza shop together with complementary (free) beer from the Tooheys fridge. None of us know what got Wes started on the "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi Oi" but it was definitely one of the highlights of a very special night.

The night was a great success for all despite a signal breakdown towards the end and not until after we had cheered our way through Cathy Freeman's spectacular win and Michael Johnson's four hundred walkover. It truly was the best night of athletics ever seen by anyone in the room.

Not much betting went on until the start of the 10,000m and a few were talking of the Kenyan's ability to roll the Ethiopians, but sorry guy's, when Gebrselassie is in the race you don't desert the favourite!!! If only Channel 7 had actually televised the race instead of showing an interview with Cathy Freeman during which Bruce managed to steal glimpses at the race but we did not. And for all the field event buffs out there even just one throw in the best men’s discus competition even would have been good.

Thanks to all that came along to make it a fun night, to Tooheys Victoria and Jos de Bruin who made it possible for us to share in athletics at it's best and make a profit for the club. After expenses were paid a profit was returned to the club of $250.00 that will be used towards upgrading the facilities in the gym.

We might leave the last word to Wes: "Aussie, Oi, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi…Oi!!!" or something like that eh Wes.

Rumor has it that a few weeks ago Mark Stewart (club pole vault coach) was awarded with some kind of recognition award for his involvement / contribution / development of sport in Victoria. As modest as he is, I am sure he didn't tell anybody and I think that he deserves some recognition. Well done Mark.

The season officially starts on Thursday with the first round of State League. Unofficial competition started last weekend with a PB meet at Box Hill. It lived up to its name for quite a few athletes including the editor of the newsletter who ran his first 400m PB since December 1995!!

Hopefully the season will get off to a great start and with the Women’s State League team to repeat their success from last year while the Men’s team aims for the finals.

With a large number of club records being broken in the last year or so, the Club record boards had become out of date. Over the last few weeks, committee member Dale Bickham has updated the record boards with as many results as he is aware of, however it is likely that he may have missed records by some athletes. The records on the boards on the club rooms have also been loaded onto the Club web page. Please take time to look through these record lists next time that you are at the Club or browsing on the internet and check to see if there are any other results which should be added to the lists. Hopefully it will also inspire you to try to break one of these records yourself!

If you find any errors, omissions or additions please contact Dale Bickham on 9890 5150 (ph) or dbickham@deakin.edu.au (e-mail).

The editor of this newsletter feels that he may need to retract certain comments made in the last issue of the Club News concerning the alleged behavior of the pole vault group at the Sydney Olympic Trials.

The pole vault group is a very hard training group in the Box Hill Athletic Club as was shown by their results in the recent World Junior Championships. If any individuals in this group were offended by any reference to alcohol then I apologize sincerely.

Box Hill Athletic Club operates the Barlow Foundation as a registered project with the Australian Sports Foundation for the purpose of supporting elite athletes and coaches in state league interclub competition. The project makes grants to athletes and coaches from tax-deductible donations made to the foundation.

Proposed distribution of Barlow Foundation grants for 2000/01 season

• $200 Reimbursement of expenses to the leading Female State League points scorer
• $200 Reimbursement of expenses to the leading Male State League points scorer
• $200 Reimbursement of expenses to the coach whose athletes (including both male and female) score the greatest combined total of State League points.
• Payment of Athletics Victoria membership for the following season for any athlete who scores 100 or more State League points.

A donation form can be downloaded from the following location:

BARLOW FUND FORM

If you are unable to view the donation form and would like a copy please e-mail Colin Organ with your address details and he will forward a copy via snail mail.

All donations are tax deductible.

If you have any questions about the Barlow Foundation, Colin can be contacted on 9813 3597 or via email ( colo@bigpond.com )

The cross-country season has come to a close and attention will soon turn to the track but the Albert Park Road Race has been run and won since the last newsletter and the final Winter Premiership Standings for all grades has been decided.

Thankyous must go out to all competitors and team manages who have put in so hard during the season to make it a success.

In another fine performance Box Hill consolidated its excellent recent performances during the Winter season with a stirring second place in the 15,000 m. Road Championships at Albert Park on Sunday 10^th September.

On commencement, Marcus Tierney moved into contention in the leading group of 10 athletes sitting back in 6^th position. He looked really solid throughout the race moving up as high as second place, whilst in the company of the six athletes in the leading bunch. Marcus succumbed to one tough surge half way around the circuit but still held his form and finished the race full of running in 5^th in 46:43 in his best ever placing in an AV championship.

Scott Jackson and Graeme Olden started more conservatively settling into around 15^th and 16^th positions. Running in close proximity to each other for three-and-a-half of the four laps, they reeled in a number of their opponents, with Scott finishing in 10^th place in 47:41 and Graeme 14 seconds behind, in 12^th position in 47:55.

Dale Bickham produced his best ever winter result in placing 29^th in 50:31. Running as high as 20^th in the early stages of the race, he produced a very determined performance and finished full of running. Behind him Adam Pepper, 59^th in 53:18 performed well, with Jonathon Tyler running 76^th in 55:15 in one of his best Winter performances, completing the A grade team which finished second behind Glenhuntly.

Chris O’Connor, 90^th in 56:04 and Dave Boyd, 167^th in 64:36 completed all the men’s performances in the open race. Kynan Dawes was unable to finish after being in 34^th position half way.

In the Women’s race, Anna Thompson again placed third, in the time of 52:46. Megan Sloane, second in her age division finished 26^th in 64:09, and Marion Gamble was 33^rd in 66:32 to bring Box Hill home in 5^th.

Sam Hassett ran an impressive race and unleashed a sustained finishing sprint to hold off his fast finishing opponent in the U20 5km Road championship, winning the Silver medal. This was a very impressive performance, and augurs really well for the future. His time of 15:34 was very promising. Emily Smith won the U18 5km road race in the time of 18:38.

Several members have recently used Athletics Victoria's on-line registration service to register themselves with Athletics Victoria. While on the surface, this may seem like a quick way to get registered, it actually creates more work for the Club and will take you longer to get your numbers. After receiving your on-line registration, Athletics Victoria will allocate your number and send it to the Box Hill registrar, Angela Robbie. While this has completed the registration process with Athletics Victoria, it has not completed the process of renewing your membership with the Box Hill Athletic Club. To compete in AV competition you need to be a member of a club as well as registered with AV so we need you to complete a Club Membership form and return it to Angela along with the Club fee before you receive your numbers. Hence, on receipt of your numbers from AV, Angela will send you a letter asking for this information and the Club fee before forwarding on your numbers to you.

This whole process is shortened significantly if you send your signed Club Membership form to Angela Robbie who will register you with AV and send your numbers to you as soon as she receives them from AV. Club Membership forms can be downloaded from the Box Hill Athletic Club web site at http://www.boxhillathleticclub.org.

Congratulations to Andrew Letherby who has been selected to represent Australia at the World Half Marathon Championships to be held in Veracruz, Mexico on 12 November 2000. This selection is reward for a consistent year of top quality performances, in particular Andrew's third placing in the Noosa Half Marathon, which was a selection trial for the World Championships. We wish Andrew the best of luck in Mexico.

The Box Hill Athletic Club has entered a team in the Whitehorse Relay for Life, a 24 hour relay on the weekend of 18-19 November 2000. The relay is a fundraising event for the Anti-Cancer Council and is being supported by the City of Whitehorse. There is a trophy for the team which covers the greatest distance over the 24 hour period, with team members taking it in turns to run/walk around the Nunawading track for half an hour at a time. We need at least 12 members to complete the team, so if anyone is interested in taking part, providing a donation to the team, or providing support on the day, please contact the team captain Graeme Olden on 9885 0890 (ph) or golden@sprint.com.au (e-mail).

When you are at the club you will notice the new large yellow recycling bins around the track. These bins can take Glass or Plastic Bottles, and Aluminum Cans. The small bins are there for general rubbish.

By an anonymous email source the editor of the club news has been informed that hot on the heels of Adam Peppers Nude 400m Club Record the female record has been set. The time of 93.4s is perhaps somewhat pedestrian but until someone goes out and breaks it then the brave young girl is the proud holder of a club record. I suggest that if she wants to have this record ratified on the record boards she contact Dale Bickham who is in charge of them.

Inspired by the female record the club editor himself recently hit the track with fellow Box Hill athlete and stopwatch and now claims the Men’s Nude Quarter Club Record at 66.1s.

This time is still not particularly fast and the editor has heard rumors about other young athletes who have done some nude running down at the track (perhaps even one who went to world juniors) and could lower the club record substantially. But until then I have a club record!!

The Australian University Games were held the week after the Olympics at Ballarat and while perhaps there were not the names of Michael Johnson and Cathy Freeman competing, there were at least two Olympians and a lot of Box Hill Athletes.

Performances included:

Women:

100m Jane Tulloch 5^th
200m Jane Tulloch 1^st
400m Jenny Marshall 1^st
400H Jenny Marshall 1^st
High Jump Fiona Buchanan 7^th
Pole Vault Fiona Buchanan 2^nd
Pole Vault Alanah Wilcox 3^rd
Heptathlon Fiona Buchanan 5^th

Men:

800m Tim Renowden 12^th
1500m Dale Bickham 15^th
3000St Dale Bickham 2^nd
Pole Vault James Filshie 1^st
Pole Vault Graham Pattison 2^nd
Pole Vault Cameron Baker 4^th
Decathlon Cameron Baker 6^th

I am sure there were probably a few more Box Hill athletes but a lot of the week is a blur. AUG is a great week of athletics and partying and hopefully next year in Sydney even Catherine Marshall will come!!

While the greatest show on earth was on you might have seen someone familiar on the big screen. As well as some of the venue officials out in the middle of the arena was our very own young pole vaulter Ashley. She was chosen to carry the tracksuit bins for athletes out in the main stadium. She even got to carry Michael Johnson’s clothes during one of his races, lucky girl.

Club sponsor Banksia Sports Clinic has moved to 1062 Heidelberg Rd, Ivanhoe (Just next door to Pizza Hut we are told). Could all athletes please take note of their new address and phone number: 9499 8887.

Due to VCE exams athletics Victoria has split this years school state championships into seniors and juniors. This newsletter addition will have all the results I have from the seniors while you will have to wait until next month to see how the junior athletes went.

I apologize to any athletes whose name should be here and is not but I have been out of juniors for quite a while and some of the names are not as familiar as they should.

Sheridan Bishop U20 High Jump
Sarah Coghill U18 400m Hurdles
Elizabeth Bird U18 800m
Jocelyn Keage U17 3000m
Ned McLeod U17 400m Hurdles
Lane Harrison U17 100m, 200m
Michelle Fistric U17 100m Hurdles
Mohamad Zeed U17 Long Jump, 110m Hurdles

Elizabeth Bird U18 400m Hurdles
Andrea Workmeister U18 100m Hurdles
Mohamad Zeed U17 100m, 200m
Lane Harrison U17 Long Jump
Heidi Reiden U17 3000m

Sarah Coghill U18 100m Hurdles
Andrea Workmeister U18 100m
Leonie Kingenblatz U18 3000m Steeple
Lane Harrison U17 110m Hurdles

The City of Whitehorse and Box Hill Athletic Club had submitted an application to the State Government through their Community Support Fund for a grant to help with redevelopment of the clubrooms at Hagenauer's Reserve. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful with our application and so upgrade of the changerooms and pavilion will have to be funded by the council and the club. As the clubroom redevelopment is a major part of the Club's 10 year plan, we have been accumulating funds for a number of years for this purpose and hence we are now in a good position to proceed with the first stage. The council have committed funds to this year's budget towards the redevelopment and are hoping to be able to start work on 1 March 2001. In the meantime there is considerable work to be done to finalise the scope of the upgrade and work out exactly what can be afforded. At this stage we are planning to extend the clubrooms to the north to construct a new public toilet and changeroom area, with the current women's changeroom and public toilets being modified to incorporate new Club changerooms, toilets and showers. The men's clubrooms will be converted into a gymnasium area and extended to include the area of the men's toilets and showers. The weights room will be extended to include the women's toilet and shower currently adjacent to the weights room.

We are hoping to be able to install a mezzanine floor above the current George Stringer Room and weights room to provide a "social" area overlooking the track, however it appears that we will have to raise additional funds to cover the cost of this work so the committee will be looking for assistance with fundraising over the next 9 months to enable us to provide this component of the extension. Should you wish to contribute towards the redevelopment of the clubrooms in any way, please contact Graeme Olden (9885 0890), or any other committee members.